Turkey's planned legislation on fake news 'alarming,' says IPI

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The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed concern over a planned new law on "fake news," which will reportedly introduce prison sentences for spreading false information on social media. 

"We have seen a decisive push from the Turkish government to regulate and control social media platforms over the last year," said IPI Turkey Program Coordinator Renan Akyavaş. "Based on the information we have learned so far, this draft bill appears to be an escalation of that effort, whose goal is to increase censorship, especially online."

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last month that they were working on a new law to tackle what he called "the terror of lies" on social media.

AKP deputy Ali Özkaya said in late July that those who spread fake news on social media should be sentenced to prison.

A pro-government daily reported in mid-August that the government would introduce prison sentences of up to five years for such offenses, as well as a regulatory body for social media platforms.

"The key concern here relates to the use of vague terms and criteria as well as the risk of abuse by state authorities, all of which can be used to criminalize dissenting voices," Akyavaş said.

"It is essential that Turkish authorities publish the full draft of this bill in advance and discuss the planned regulations with civil society groups and independent media representatives to ensure that any legislation meets international standards and does not interfere with the fundamental rights of press freedom and freedom of expression."

Last year, Turkey enacted a "social media law" obligating all major platforms to assign legal representatives and store their users' data in the country. (HA/VK)